Human trafficking investigations lead to several arrests

A joint investigation involving numerous agencies, including the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office, resulted in three men being charged with attempted human trafficking.

Daviess County Sheriff Brad Youngman said the investigation, dubbed “Operation Phantom,” focused on sex trafficking and culminated in a series of arrests over the weekend.

“This is something I talked to Attorney General (Russell) Coleman about after he took office, that I wanted to do something about human trafficking,” Youngman said Monday.

“Human trafficking is the fastest growing crime in the world and it occurs everywhere,” Youngman said. “It’s something the AG’s office knows how to do.”

The investigation included “communications” between undercover officers and individuals who “expressed intent to engage in sexual activity with children,” according to a sheriff’s office news release.

Youngman said he couldn’t discuss details of the investigation, but said, “We were able to identify individuals who we believe were looking for this type of activity.”

Investigators charged Robert B. Pierce, 64, of the 1700 block of Mallard Place, Abbel Getu, 32, of the 3000 block of Waterside Way, and Justin L. Chancay, 41, of Reynolds Station, with attempted human trafficking, victims 18 years old.

Human trafficking is defined in part under state law as “commercial sexual activity involving the use of force, fraud, or coercion.” If a person is under 18 years of age, force, fraud, or coercion are not necessary to prove that a person has been a victim of human trafficking.

Attempted human trafficking of a minor is a Class B felony and is punishable by between 10 and 20 years in prison upon conviction.

The arrests occurred between Thursday and Saturday, representing only a small portion of the investigation, Youngman said.

“A lot of work went into the front end,” he said.

According to sheriff’s office reports, two other men identified during the investigation, Jefferson Suentz-Cruz, 23, of Hartford and Jeremiah Phillips, 24, of the 1200 block of Werner Avenue, were charged with promoting prostitution, a misdemeanor represents class A.

“The cases are here to stay,” Youngman said. “Our commonwealth’s attorney will be the one to prosecute them.”

Numerous other agencies were involved, including the U.S. Attorney for Western Kentucky, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, the Daviess County Prosecutor’s Office, the Secret Service, the Kentucky State Police, the Owensboro-Daviess County 911 Center, the prison and New Beginnings Sexual Assault Support Services and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

“It was definitely a team effort,” Youngman said.

The press release states that the investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are expected.